Chapter 13: What are You?

When Dustin opened his eyes, he found himself back in the void of color. Another dream. He couldn't help but feel like it had been a while since the last time he had one of them. After wiggling his arms and legs awake, he made his way over towards the two points of color in the distance. He looked between the two points that he was able to see. Nothing new had appeared, unlike last time, so he wasn't entirely certain if there was something specific he was supposed to do here. Taking a random guess, he moved towards the light blue point where he was greeted by himself once again.

"Good to see you, me. Keeping ok out there?" it asked with a sly grin.

"I'm fine, I think. At least I'm not hurt or anything. Why am I back here?"

"We just needed to talk to you, is all," the image said, floating around Dustin. "I know you're struggling a bit with the whole 'who am I' thing and what your whole reason for being here is. Kind of a counterproductive line of thinking, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry, what? I don't get what you're trying to get at," Dustin said, furrowing his brow. "Yeah I've been thinking about that a lot, but I don't understand what's wrong about that. Isn't it natural to wonder about who I was before a couple of weeks ago?"

The image laughed and leaned back in the air. "Who's to say that person was any different from you right here and right now?"

Dustin shook his head. "Who's saying that it's the same person? You're my memories anyway, aren't you? Why is it that you can't seem to tell me anything from before? Why do I still only remember my experiences after waking up?"

The image narrowed its eyes, seeming to be angered by Dustin's question or at the very least bothered by it. Then, as quickly as that expression had come, it was replaced with the image's usual jovial expression. It laughed again and turned towards the light blue light.

"The green light is the only one so far that has anything far enough back worth mentioning. Sad part about that is that he was so far back that even that memory is foggy at best. That's why it was only a silhouette. Me, however? I'm a small snippet from right before you lost your memories in the accident. I can't help you figure out who you are."

"But you still have something to show me," Dustin replied, frustration creeping into his voice. "You've had something to show or tell me for weeks and haven't let me see it. What are you blocking from me?"

The image sighed, its expression fading once again. This time it seemed...reflective, if not a bit somber. It hung its head.

"I was trying to use what I thought was our best judgement," it said, poking at the light. "I was hoping for us to get more memories back before we worried about this. You made a promise to someone."

"Cut to the point, please," Dustin huffed. "Sorry for getting aggressive about this, but if this is really important info then it can't wait. Tell me or show me everything I need to know."

The image glanced over its shoulder, before looking up. "Nope, sorry. We don't have time for that. Seems like we're about to wake up, and if my guess is right it's gonna be a pretty harsh wakeup call too. I'll just be quick about this. You made a promise to someone, someone who needs help that can only be provided by you. Us. The crystals are the key to the whole thing, not just your memories. Keep them out of the hands of others, they're too important to lose."

The void suddenly began to shake, and Dustin felt as if he was heating up. A bright white light began to descend from above.

"And you're about to find out what happens when they wind up in someone else's hands for too long," the image said as it faded away and Dustin was plunged into the light.

He awoke to a cold red nose pushed against his chest and paws batting at him.

"Dustin! Dustin!" Poochyena shouted, continuing her assault on Dustin. "Come on! It's an emergency!"

"Huh? What?" Dustin yelped, sitting up and knocking the pooch off of his chest. "What's wrong?"

"It's the hospital," Shari said, looking out Cutiefly's front window, "There was an explosion, and now it's on fire. Something isn't right, we need to get over there as soon as possible."

"I'm ready," Cutiefly said, handing everyone their bags and items, "So lead the way. There's no time to waste."

Dustin was dragged along in a half awake daze as the party rushed towards the hospital. By the time they arrived, several of the nurses had evacuated most of the patients. Others, however, were laid down in the grass coughing and covered in soot. Dustin couldn't help but notice that these were the same nurses that had previously been overseeing Blaziken's care, a Pokemon that was suspiciously missing in all of this.

Blissey finally stumbled out from the blaze, Rattata cradled in her arms. She flopped over as another nurse took the patient from her. Shari and Cutiefly ran to her side, Shari bracing her while Cutiefly attempted to heal her at least a little with her heal pulse.

"Urgh...thank you very much," she groaned as Shari laid her down.

"What happened here?" Dustin asked as another pillar of flame erupted from the hospital.

"Blaziken completely lost control. He broke free from his restraints and just started destroying everything he could. We did our best to keep him at bay so evacuations could happen, but there's only so much we can do. Most of us are working at a type disadvantage."

"Any idea why he suddenly lost control like that? You all had him restrained pretty well yesterday," Shari asked, casting a worried look towards the hospital.

"None. We knew he was having fits of violent outbursts, but this is different. The look in his eyes, the ferocity he was striking with….it isn't normal," Blissey shook her head before coughing violently. Shari laid her on her back while Cutiefly continued her attempts at treatment, sweat beginning to bead on her forehead.

"I know what caused this," Dustin said, clutching his crystal pendant in his hand. "I had a dream that warned me, and I had a sinking suspicion yesterday. It's a crystal."

"What, like one of your crystals?" Poochyena asked, cocking her head to the side. "I guess it does make some sense, it drove Eidolon crazy back then. He was really violent in that fight but it wasn't this destructive."

"Blaziken has been exposed longer, I think," Dustin said as the ground shook once more. "That and he's stronger. A lot stronger. But he has a crystal in his hand that's driving him crazy. We need to get it out."

"How do you suppose we do that?" Cutiefly yelped. "You don't think we should fight him, do you? Even with numbers and my healing he'll beat us senseless. Blaziken has always been the strongest guy in town. I can't heal you all fast enough to keep up with the damage he'll deal."

"We don't have a choice," Shari said flatly as another pillar of flame erupted from the hospital, this time accompanied by a shadow leaping from the rubble. "He's on us. We need to keep his focus on us and away from the injured."

As soon as Shari finished speaking, Blaziken landed directly behind Dustin. Immediately he shot a clawed hand towards the Cubone who barely deflected it with his club. Shari, Poochyena, and Cutiefly jumped to action. Poochyena threw her head back with a warning howl as Shari rushed forward with a sweeping kick, knocking Blaziken prone. Before Dustin could take advantage of the situation, however, Blaziken leaned back on his hands and threw his legs out in a circular sweeping motion, knocking Dustin prone.

"Dustin!" Poochyena yelped, running to her partner's side and taking a slashing claw to her side, sending her tumbling off. She rose to her feet almost as quickly as she fell, however, and was back in action. Howling, she rushed towards Blaziken and threw her weight into his stomach before he was able to strike Dustin. The two tumbled over one another, allowing Cutiefly and Shari to help Dustin to his feet.

At this point the commotion and fire had begun to wake up the village, sending people into a panic. Arcanine rushed to the fight in shock, but Dustin held up a hand and stopped him before he could engage.

"Arcanine, I can't say we've got this but you need to keep everyone else safe. Get the injured away from here and make sure no one comes close to us. We need someone to stop Blaziken from targeting the others, and you're our best option."

Arcanine gave a wordless nod before barking orders to a few townspeople who began moving the injured nurses a miners away from the ongoing battle. The timing couldn't have been better, as the moment they moved the first nurse away Blaziken threw Poochyena off of himself and onto the spot they had previously occupied. Poochyena rose to unsteady legs before stumbling back over. Cutiefly raced to her side and began attempting to heal her. Blaziken, however, was not finished with this target.

Dustin and Shari formed a defensive line and blocked Blaziken from dealing further damage to Poochyena. Shari attempted to knock him prone once more. Blaziken, however, had learned from last time and hopped over Shari's leg before delivering a powerful kick to her jaw that sent her reeling back, crashing into Poochyena and Cutiefly. Dustin was left to fend Blaziken off alone, smacking away strikes from his arms and legs with his club. With each strike he deflected he could feel himself losing ground and feel his club starting to splinter. Dustin glanced over his shoulder to see Shari and Poochyena rise back to their feet. They weren't recovered, but they still had energy to fight.

Dustin ducked down, giving Poochyena space to vault over him and headbutt Blaziken, staggering him. Shari responded in kind, flanking Blaziken from behind and meeting his prior kick to the head with a kick of her own. Blaziken responded with a feral yell and a blast of fire aimed at Dustin. Dustin felt the flames engulf him, his body becoming wrapped in a white hot heat that knocked him down to one knee. Before Cutiefly could reach him and begin healing, Blaziken was on him. Cutiefly could only watch as Dustin fended off a flurry of fists with nothing more than his club which splintered more and more with each strike.

Attempting to close the gap Blaziken had put between them and himself, Shari grabbed Poochyena and threw her. Poochyena latched onto Blaziken's leg with her fangs, but nothing she did seemed to ease the ferocity of his attacks on Dustin. The sound of a bone breaking echoed through the village as Blaziken's fist finally smashed through Dustin's club. Everyone's blood ran cold as they watched Blaziken's fist crash into Dustin's skull, sending a web of cracks out between the point of contact and Dustin's eyes. Dustin fell over like a ragdoll, unconscious. Blaziken stood upright and turned to Shari and Poochyena, his eyes alight with a cruel flame.

"Dustin is down," Shari said with disbelief. "Cutiefly, is there anything you can do?"

"No! He's fainted, I don't have anything for that. No Reviver Seeds or the like!" Cutiefly shouted back.

"What are we gonna do now then? Dustin's the one that normally comes up with a plan," Poochyena said as Blaziken began moving towards them. "Most of my plans involve yelling and throwing myself at the bad guy!"

"We keep our wits about us and do our best," Shari said, readying her fists and taking an offensive stance. "Right now we can just hope to hurt him faster than he can hurt us. You focus on his rear, I'll try to keep his attention."

Poochyena nodded and attempted to run behind Blaziken while Shari made a move towards his front. Blaziken, however, seemed to be readily targeting Poochyena and tripped her with the same sweeping motion he had used to trip Shari prior. For a brief moment, Poochyena was airborne with no control of her body. Blaziken answered this by bringing his hand down on her in a chopping motion, sending her crashing into the ground. Poochyena let loose a sharp exhale as the air escaped her lungs. She coughed, attempting to breathe. She watched Cutiefly attempt to send a burst of healing her way, but Cutiefly was cut off by Blaziken kicking Poochyena to the side like an old can.

Shari saw Blaziken take notice of Cutiefly's panicked attempts to heal Poochyena and immediately maneuvered to try and draw his aggression towards her. She leapt onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck, restricting his airflow. Blaziken began clawing at her, attempting to remove her as she tightened her grip on him. Cutiefly's eyes darted in a panic between Shari and Poochyena, unsure of who to aid. Poochyena was still conscious, albeit barely, and Shari was being actively shredded by Blaziken. Before she could make a decision, Blaziken threw Shari off of him and let loose a stream of fire towards Cutiefly. Cutiefly braced herself for the blaze, ready to be toasted and join Dustin, fainted on the ground.

The fire, however, never reached her. Cutiefly peeked her eyes open to see Poochyena bravely taking the blaze for her.

"Focus...on...Shari!" Poochyena shouted back with a smile. "You...got...this!"

As the fire subsided, Poochyena collapsed on the ground like Dustin before her. It was now down to Shari and Cutiefly. Blaziken was starting to show signs of exhaustion, but it was unclear just how much energy he had left. Shari was worse for the wear as well, barely on her feet. Cutiefly could feel adrenaline pumping through her body as she saw Blazikens eyes fall on her once more.

Before he could let loose another stream of fire, however, Shari leapt on him once more and once again wrapped her arms around his neck. This time, however, she braced her legs on his back and leapt with a flip. Using her weight, she threw Blaziken in an arc over her head and suplexed him onto his back. Cutiefly, seeing the small window of opportunity, shot a heal pulse at Shari, allowing her to recover just a bit of her energy.

Shari panted, watching as Blaziken once again rose to his feet as if nothing had happened. She held her fists up, ready for Blaziken to unleash another torrent of pain upon her. As her opponent began his assault, she dodged and weaved between blow after blow, occasionally swatting away a claw of a foot. She was moving on the defensive, watching each strike Blaziken let loose. Finally, an opening revealed itself.

Channeling all of her strength into her right fist, she let loose an uppercut. Everything Shari had was thrown into Blaziken's jaw sending him stumbling backwards. She stood there, fist raised into the air, and Blaziken collapsed onto the ground. His hand opened, and a yellow crystal fell out. He had finally fainted.

Shari collapsed soon after, falling to her knees and leaning over on her hands, panting. Several townsfolk hesitantly began to circle the group, Arcanine included. Their eyes never left Blaziken, who laid there unmoving. Slow, shallow breaths revealed that he was in fact still alive. No one was willing to approach him.

Arcanine finally walked up to Shari, fear in his eyes. With a shaking voice, he spoke.

"What are you?"

…..

"This headspace has been quiet for some time."

"Zygarde? What's up?"

"I had an odd visitor today. A Pichu."

"And? Any reason you're bringing this to all of us?"

"He had a strange item with him. One of those crystals that has been falling from the sky. He informed me that they are the source of problems to come and left it to me. I have been investigating it as best as I am able, but it is difficult to gather meaningful data from it."

"Why's that?"

"I feel my head growing foggy when I spend too much time with it. It becomes difficult to focus and I feel myself becoming irritable to even the slightest stimulus."

"Oh, I think I've heard some reports like that. Not many, and they're fairly sporadic, but they all say fairly similar stories. A Pokemon gets a hold of one of those crystals and seems to lose their mind."

"Why are you just now informing us of this, Tapu Bulu? This feels like pertinent information."

"Hey hey, ease up Zygarde. I didn't really put much thought into it is all, I assumed they were just rumors. Maybe a dungeon Pokemon had moved into civilized territory with some treasure and made people think it was someone going feral, you know? Things have been so peaceful lately that I figured people were just making up stories to make things more interesting."

"Well, I can say with certainty that they are no longer simply stories. I feel the influence of this rock whenever I spend time with it. Combined with the sensations of a human in our world that I still feel sets me on edge."

"I can't say I've heard anything more on that one."

"...! Someone is here."

"Zygarde? You good?"

"The Pichu has snuck into my office, he-"

"Huh? Zygarde do you hear me? Zygarde?"

"Bulu? What's going on in here?"

"Koko, good to hear you. I just lost all contact with Zygarde. I'm trying to reach out to one of his cores but everything is down. It's like a fog is surrounding him or something- I can feel him there but his mind is just….blocked."

"That's a problem."

"Yeah, it is. ...Ahh no, I just remembered that he said he has a crystal with him. You don't think…?"